There has always been a spark for me
in my participation in FLOC and Hope and Home.
I've had a variety of roles over the last thirty years -
executive board, management board member, staff person, and most
consistently, volunteer member of the mission group.
Seekers has been connected with FLOC from the beginning.
FLOC Director Fred Taylor and I issued the call to form Seekers.
Many people in Seekers have been involved with FLOC.
And my involvement in Seekers and FLOC informed each other -
justice work has been central in both groups,
particularly centered with women and children.
Let me tell you some of what I've learned and experienced in
this setting.
The work of helping inner city families move from homelessness to their own
homes
is tough, no question about it.
But we've always had fun doing it -
at picnics, with skits, celebrations of birthdays, joking around together.
Partnering together in many ways to create our approaches,
bridging suburbs and city,
involving those with more resources and those with less
as equals in rehabing apartments,
finding good educational opportunities for children,
and enriching experiences for families -
this has been how we all have claimed our power
to make positive change.
It has seemed important that Hope and Home, particularly, has
always been
a bite-sized chunk.
We started with single apartments and individual families
and only when we had confidence in the solidity of our approach
have we expanded.
Expansion most recently has meant several apartments on one street
so community could develop.
Hope and Home has been a seedbed for new creations and
other programs such as Manna.
We are always creating opportunities to share what works
so that others in the city might use some of our methods
and fit them to their situation perhaps on a larger scale.
It's gratifying that our whole approach has been recognized as
valuable and unique by many in the city.
Most important in all of this has been the personal relationships
we have with one another.
When you scramble through a ropes course with a mother or child or staff member,
you build ties that are so rewarding personally
and which help you stick together when the inevitable setbacks occur.
Elese Sizemore captured the spirit of what I'm trying to say
in
this poem.
Sonya
at Hope and A Home
and in Life
Quicksilver movement
Childlike delight
Deep-seated laughter
Down to earth sight
Helping hands
Giving start
Good advice
Mother's heart
Inner voice
Outer deeds
Compassionate action
God's sower of seeds
It makes me very happy to be able to say "Yes" to
these words.
What an incredible opportunity my participation
in FLOC and Hope and Home has been.
To give, yes, and
to receive so much.